Attorney is requesting disclosure of my auto insurance policy limit

[bishopoflyons]

I live in California, and got into a very small accident recently where I rear-ended someone in stop-and-go traffic. Their car was barely damaged and they were absolutely fine when they got out of the car. We didn't even call the police and drove away after exchanging information.

Well, now they've hired an attorney that wants to claim injuries against my insurance. They have gone to my insurer and requested to know my policy limits, which means I received a letter and now have the option to reject or accept to release this information. My limit is 100k but I'm not inclined to let them know that because I don't want them to claim more than they have to. I understand the minimum is 15K which is probably more than they need for whatever injury they're claiming.

But I also don't want to get sued and have to go to court and hire attorneys etc.

Any advice/thoughts?

 

[servantofchrist27]

@bishopoflyons Your claims adjuster deals with these questions all day every day. Let them handle it.

I was never a bodily injury claims adjuster but my understanding is that your claims adjuster would need to let you know if it's possible that the injured party has a reasonable claim for an amount greater than the limits on your policy. This is because you may need to get your own attorney to defend you or notify any other insurance companies that might have coverage for this (e.g. if you have an umbrella policy then that insurance company would want to know about this accident as early as possible).

 

[randomchristian]

@servantofchrist27 Don't they have to ask in CA though?

To clarify: I assumed they got a letter from their insurer about the attorneys request for disclosure of policy limits, and I think policyholder permission is required in CA. This is separate from a possible excess limits notification. But yeah, if they received a letter from the attorney directly they should forward it to the adjuster.

 

[bishopoflyons]

@randomchristian You are correct. I have received an email from my insurer asking if I want to share that information with the other party’s attorney. Not sure which decision is the correct decision.

 

[marthchat]

@bishopoflyons Let your insurance company handle all questions from the injured parties’ attorney. If the
attorney or injured party contacts you, refer them to your insurance company and do not answer any questions. If suit is filed, your insurance company will provide your defense under the terms of your policy, unless you do something that would prejudice the investigation of the claim. Call the adjuster and have this conversation; honestly I am surprised the adjuster hasn’t already contacted you.